


No One Knows (Why?)

by Badassium1970



Category: Game Grumps, NormalBoots, ProJared - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecurity, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-17 01:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14177565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badassium1970/pseuds/Badassium1970
Summary: Ross and Jared have been dating for a while now, but, other than their wives, no one else knows. Ross starts to wonder why and thinks that Jared may want to break-up.





	No One Knows (Why?)

Ross anxiously waited in the streaming area of the Grumps space. Jared was visiting for a week and it had been a while since they had seen each other since Jared had to move and for some reason Ross felt nervous. Jared never gave his reason for coming over, he didn’t have any D&D plans, no one was planning on recording anything with him, there went any conventions or meetings he needed to be in L.A. for.

The most likely answer was that Jared just wanted to see his friends and boyfriend in person, but while counting down the days until he saw Jared in person again Ross’ brain had decided to entertain him with the idea that Jared was coming down just to break up with him. It wasn’t something that Jared would feel comfortable about doing over the phone or in a video call, so it made sense, even though it didn’t. Jared had shown that he had feelings for Ross and wanted everything to work out, but the thought of Jared breaking up with his remained in Ross’ head causing his to bit his nails down while he worried.

“Hey Ross, you alright?” Dan questioned when he walked into the office, noticing that Ross seemed to be on edge.

“Yeah just waiting for Jared. He wanted to stop by and say hi to everyone before we hung out,” Ross shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, because it really wasn’t. They were just going to hit up some places that Jared said he missed and probably go to a sushi place or something similar. He really shouldn’t be worrying this much.

“Cool, got any hot plans?” Dan asked with a laugh.

Ross shook his head and told Dan what they had planned.

“Eh, whatever floats your boat. But in all seriousness, I always kinda figured you and Jared would get together at some point,” Dan chuckled at the thought and Ross wasn’t sure if Dan was being serious or not.

The pair had decided to keep their relationship a secret since they had gotten together not long before Jared had to leave. They had fooled around a few times before that but hadn’t become serious until then. Holly and Heidi both knew but since no one knew how things would work out they decided to keep things on the down low until they could be sure things would work out.

Up until now, Ross hadn’t thought about the fact that they had been dating for almost a year and yet Jared hadn’t even brought up telling their friends about their relationship. Not that he had either, but that fact didn’t matter to Ross and his overactive imagination right now.

“I… uh… what?” Was the best response Ross could give Dan.

“You guys just always seemed so close and I dunno, like you mess with him, but it’s not the same way you mess with us. It’s more akin to how you mess with Holly, and… eh, never mind, just a weird thought.” Dan saw that Ross seemed uncomfortable and decided it was best to drop the conversation. Whatever it was between he and Jared it seemed that Ross didn’t want to talk about it. Dan just hoped that they were okay.

Ross told himself to snap out of it. If Jared didn’t want people to know that was fair, maybe he was just afraid of how his friends would react. All he needed to focus on now was keeping up the act because of Dan’s growing suspicion.

“Wait you shipped us?” Ross questioned in mock disbelief, taking on his more sadistic and lively persona to tease Dan. Dan could tell that Ross’ heart wasn’t in it but he knew it was best to humour him and play along.

“I guess it could be seen as that,” he shrugged, putting his bag down by his desk, setting his stuff up while Ross watched, trying to take his mind off thinking about the possibility of Jared wanted to break up with him.

“Read any good fanfiction? Is that even a thing?” Ross wondered, knowing that people tended to keep Polygrumps things to just the Grumps but he knew that Jared wasn’t prude and probably didn’t mind. He remembered that dating sim, Holly wouldn’t let him pick Jared because she said Ross would be ‘too obvious’ and she was probably right. Ross also remembered hearing about fanfiction, Jared had said it became more of a thing, people shipping his with Austin. For a brief moment, Ross had felt a little jealousy but then realised he was being stupid.

“I wouldn’t know, that’s more of Brian’s thing, ask him,” Dan commented while looking through files on his computer not entirely checked into the conversation anymore.

“Ask me what?” Brian asked as he walked into the room, closely followed by Jared who smiled as soon as he saw Ross, who silently hoped that Dan didn’t answer.

“If people write fanfics about Ross and Jared,” Dan said, obviously not paying much attention. He hadn’t even looked away from his screen and so was oblivious to Jared’s presence.

Brian just shrugged, not knowing. He’d never checked since he mainly used fanfiction as a way to annoy Dan or make others feel slightly uncomfortable on live streams.

“There are a few, some fanart as well,” Jared answered causing Dan to turn around in his chair in shock and he felt like an asshole for a moment knowing he’d probably just embarrassed Ross.

“Hey man, sorry didn’t see you there,” Dan tried to move the conversation on, getting up to give Jared a hug.

“No problem, how’ve you been?”

Dan and Jared engaged in conversation while Ross worried about any upcoming conversation that he and Jared would have about what just happened. What if Jared thought he was trying to out them?

“Okay, I’ll just head and see the others and then we’ll go okay Ross? Ross?”

Jared’s voice broke through Ross’ negative thoughts and while he didn’t know what his boyfriend had just said he decided that it was best to just agree. Rolling his eyes and laughing, knowing that Ross had been distracted, Jared repeated that he was going to just stop by everyone else’s offices to say hi before they went out.

Ross nodded, feeling his face grow hot and his legs were weak. He hoped that no one noticed.

When Jared left Brian went to make a comment on Ross’ behaviour but Dan gave him a look that told him that it was a bad idea. While Brian liked to tease he could tell this wasn’t the right time so instead, he and Dan got to work while Ross waited for Jared to return, his mind continuing to spew negative thoughts at him. Ross wondered if he should message Holly about it, or maybe he should just fake feeling sick and someone else could hang out with Jared but would putting off the inevitable a good idea or would things just be made worse?

“Okay, ready to go?”

Ross jumped, letting out a high-pitched noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a scream. He’d been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed Jared’s return.

“Uh-ye-yeah sure,” Ross inwardly cursed at himself for being so jumpy. He hadn’t seen Jared for so long and now he was just being weird around him. If Jared didn’t want to break up with him before he may soon.

Jared chuckled, giving Ross a knowing look. A look that never failed to turn Ross on and mixed with that deep laugh, Jared’s intentions were clear to Ross. Jared liked to tease, and Ross missed having it happen in person.

“See you later man,” Dan called as they left and Brian grunted a goodbye as he tried to fix an issue with his computer, too suborn to go and ask anyone else for help.

“See you around,” Jared replied as he left, following Ross out of the Grump space. As he followed he was in awe of how nice it looked.

“Oh wait, I left my stuff in my office,” Ross suddenly remembered, thankful that he did because he didn’t want Jared to have to pay for everything. He walked as quickly as he could to his office, not expecting Jared to follow him. Ross heard to door close behind him and soon Jared was behind him.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered before kissing Ross right below his ear, knowing it was one of his many weak spots. Ross let out a strangled gasp that was lost in his throat. He hadn’t felt Jared’s lips against his skin for months and the slight stubble was a welcome surprise.

“I-I’ve missed you too.” Ross turned to face Jared who wrapped his arms around Ross’ hips, resting his hands just above Ross’ ass in a teasing manner. It had been a common fantasy for Jared to fuck him in his new office, and even though it was pretty well sound-proofed Ross knew that he could be incredibly loud and the sound-proofing wouldn’t be enough. Ross could still hope, but soon Jared moved and Ross felt a chill where Jared’s body had been pressed up against his.

“Ready to go m’lady?” Jared joked, raising his eyebrows and holding his hand out. Ross nodded and put his hand in Jared’s feeling his face flush when Jared kissed his hand. How was he always so smooth?

Jared was quick to let go of Ross’ hand before they left the office and Ross felt a slight pain, like a tugging in his chest, at the fact that Jared didn’t want to show off their relationship. He knew it was silly to get upset about something like this and all that should really matter is that Jared was with him.

As the day went on Ross began to feel better. They went to Little Tokyo to do some shopping and ate lunch at a sushi restaurant. He didn’t mind the lack of physical contact as much, too caught up in listening to Jared’s stories of what he’d been up to lately and sharing his own stories. Every now and again he would get the occasional intrusive thought, wondering if he was talking too much or being irritating and that nagging feeling that Jared may break up with him never quite left. Ross could hide it pretty well, or so he thought.

Later when they were home Ross was making hot drinks for everyone while Holly cooked dinner. They both refused to let Jared help, knowing that he’d had a long flight and was probably tired. Holly had noticed that Ross was quieter than usual and seemed more reluctant to talk to her about Jared when she asked, often giving one-word answers.

“Ross, is something going on between you and Jared?” She had always been supportive of their relationships and played a large role in getting them to admit that they had feelings for each other and while she was willing to let Ross and Jared sort any problems they had on their own, it seemed that Ross wasn’t making any attempt to sort out their issues.

“It’s stupid, just, like… it’s not important,” Ross let out a soft sigh. He wished that he wasn’t having thoughts like this and could just enjoy Jared’s company but he was forced into thinking about how long their relationship would last, especially now that they live in different states.

“If it’s bothering you then it’s important.” Holly wasn’t willing to accept Ross’ answer, hating seeing her husband so upset. Ross knew that he wasn’t going to get away with trying to sweep this under the rug and knew better than to draw things out.

“It’s just, I dunno, like Jared and I have been together for a while now and we’re still hiding things. I guess I just thought that maybe it’d be different now,” Ross shrugged. He felt childish, knowing that this shouldn’t be bothering him so much.

“Well have you thought about asking him about it?”

Ross gave Holly a blank look. Of course he had thought about talking to Jared about this but didn’t want to make things awkward and uncomfortable, especially when Jared had only just arrived and would be down for the week, living in the same house.

“Don’t look at me like that sweetie, you know it’s the best option.” Sometimes Holly couldn’t believe how dense her husband could be and hoped that he would recognise that her suggestion was the responsible and adult thing to do.

“I know,” Ross said, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Good boy,” Holly smiled, giving Ross a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Dinner won’t be for a while, so go give Jared his tea and talk,” Holly urged her husband, not even giving him much of a chance to object before practically pushing him out of the kitchen. Ross cursed under his breath as he struggled not to spill either of the two drinks he was holding. Luckily Jared saw him struggling and went to help.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. You sure you guys don’t need any help. I’ve been practising and I’m becoming quite the chef.” Jared looked so proud of himself and Ross hated that the fact that Jared gaining the ability to cook somehow made him even more attractive.

“Yeah, Holly just kicked me out; said she didn’t need any help.” Ross let out a nervous laugh, beginning to feel hot under the collar.

“Okay cool. I’ve been meaning to ask you something anyway,” Jared sat back down on the couch placing his coffee on the table to cool down. Ross did the same thing, sitting further away from Jared than he usually would, something Jared chose not to outwardly acknowledge.

Ross felt like he knew what was coming. Jared was going to break up with him. It had to be. Maybe he was dating someone else. Someone else who lived in L.A. and that was the real reason he was visiting. They weren’t mutually exclusive, at least Ross assumed that they weren’t. Not that he had ever dated anyone else, but that was just because he hadn’t met anyone else that took his fancy. At least, that’s what he told himself.

“Are you okay? You’ve seemed, I dunno, distracted? Spacey? I know me coming down was a bit last minute, and if you have to work then I’m cool with spending some time alone or just hanging around at the office,” Jared rambled on, wondering if he should have planned this better. He’d gotten Holly’s help and she said everything would be fine but maybe he should have thought more about Ross’ work schedule.

“I-I’m fine,” Ross cut in, getting the impression that Jared wouldn’t stop talking if he didn’t.

“Just had some things on my mind, like us things,” Ross explained, noticing Jared’s face drop when he said that.

“Oh-okay… What’s up?” Jared tried to act calm, like he wasn’t also fearing for their relationship but his voice cracking gave away any chance of Jared appearing composed.

Ross took a deep breath. He wished he’d thought about what to say more. Wished that he’d given himself some more time to think this through.

“I uh-uh, it’s just that, well we’ve been together for a-a while now, and I-I was, it’s just, no one… we haven’t told anyone. I get why but, it’s been like what, almost a year now?” Ross couldn’t bring himself to look at Jared. He was just overreacting and now it was going to affect Jared’s trip.

Jared was stunned. For a moment he was lost for words, not realising that Ross felt like this.

“I-I didn’t think you wanted to. I, uh, I was kinda nervous about asking you and I figured you’d tell me when you wanted to.” Jared couldn’t help but find it funny that they had both been worrying about the same thing and the solution was so simple.

“Oh, I, I kind of thought you wanted to break up.”

That was less amusing.

“What? Ross why would you think that?”

Ross began to fidget with his hands. He’d sort of just blurted that out and didn’t really mean to. It didn’t mean anything now anyway since breaking up seemed to be one of the last things on Jared’s mind right now.

“I dunno, I was just nervous about you coming down with no other reason and like the fact that we hadn’t told people about us, and you moving… I guess I just got scared,” Ross shrugged defeatedly. He should have known better than to let his imagination get the better of him. Jared saw that Ross was beating himself up about this and was quick to provide support, cuddling up to him.

“I came down because I missed you and wanted to spend time with you that doesn’t have to be planned around other events, and I know the distance is hard but we’ll make it work, right?” The distance thing had been a worry for Jared as well, but he thought they’d been okay.

“Yeah of course. Sorry, I was just-I was being stupid.”

Jared kissed the top of Ross’ head.

“Just tell me if you ever feel like this again okay?”

Ross nodded, going to say something before Holly called and said that the food was ready.

They made their way to the kitchen but just before Jared remembered something.

“I uh… if you want we could, um, like tell people tomorrow? Like at the office?” Jared suggested, feeling his face grow red as he became a little flustered.

“Yeah, I’d-I’d like that,” Ross smiled as he was pulled in for a kiss.

“You two lovebirds better come get food or I’m giving it to the actual birds,” Holly joked, stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

Jared and Ross broke away from each other, neither of them really wanting to but they had a whole week of being around each other, and now that they didn’t have to hide their relationship Ross was already planning on having his way with Jared in his own office, and other more PG thoughts, but mainly the office thing.

**Author's Note:**

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